Artist of the Week

Artist: James WaymontArtform: Composer and Performer​What do you do and what are your main focuses?I am predominantly a composer - specifically a composer of music for Film, TV and other screen media - but I’m also a freelance drummer/percussionist, producer, sound editor/mixer, arranger, orchestrator and music copyist. I get so much out of lots of areas of music that my focus varies, depending on what projects are available at the time. I could be composing an electroacoustic piece one month, then playing drums in a pit band the next, and then arranging/preparing instrumental parts for a Northern Soul band the next. The music industry is such a vast industry with so many avenues to explore that if there’s a project that engages me, whatever discipline it falls under, I will channel all my energy and my focus into that project.​Purely as a film composer however, my focus depends entirely on what is appropriate for the film. An epic orchestral score is great fun to write, but if you’re writing the music for a baking competition, it’s going to sound a tad over the top. Having said that, a general ‘focus’ that I do try to employ throughout my work where I can (and when appropriate) is the combo of acoustic instruments and electroacoustic sounds. Just a simple and subtle mix of these two styles can produce something unique and a bit different from the norm. If used successfully, it can really enhance the film and add an extra dimension to the viewing experience, whilst also producing a score that is actually quite interesting to listen to. ​

Where have you studied?​I studied Music at the University of Manchester, and then I moved down south to study for my MA in Composition of Music for Film & TV at the University of Bristol ​

Tell us about 'Rancheros del Jaguar'.‘Rancheros del Jaguar’ is actually a collection of pieces of my work, taken from the multi-award winning short wildlife documentary film of the same name, directed and produced by Sara Matasick. The soundtrack comprises of six tracks, plus a bonus track. I’ve chosen to feature this particular album of work because it was one of the most interesting, challenging, enjoyable and engaging projects I’ve worked on to date. The film tells the story of the relationship between jaguars and ranchers in Sonora, Mexico, where the ranchers used to shoot the jaguars in order to protect their livestock, but now shoot photos of them instead. Through these images, the ranchers earn the equivalent bounty that they would have made for a dead jaguar, making the jaguar more valuable alive, as well as doubling the size of the area through which the jaguars can safely roam.

I’ve deliberately chosen to select the audio soundtrack as the main feature here and not the film itself (which can be viewed by following the URL below), just because by listening to the soundtrack album separately, you can really tell whether the music serves its purpose in terms of creating a strong narrative and displaying some sort of story arc to match that of the film. The opening track is designed to enhance the sense of fragility between the ranchers and the jaguars, whilst avoiding painting either side as the villain. This was important for me because they are essentially different sides of the same coin - they are both doing what they can to survive, so to suggest one side is more villainous than the other would’ve been a big mistake. A combination of electroacoustic material (predominantly formed from the didgeridoo and various shakers/rattles) and the yalli tambur (a bowed Turkish instrument) feature heavily throughout this track, and establishes the musical ‘sound’ I wanted to explore during the course of the film. The gritty texture of the electroacoustic material depicts the very dry and arid landscape, whilst the yalli tambur has a wonderfully fragile tonal quality that I felt really portrayed the delicate connection between the ranchers and jaguars effectively. Creating such a sustained, dark and unnerving opening with these sounds allowed me plenty of room to explore further textural and tonal elements as the film progressed, and also meant the positive development of the film’s narrative would have more impact simply through the inclusion of contrasting instruments and more rhythmic or melodic ideas.

Why do you compose?I suppose on a basic level the reason I compose is because I find the process of exploring new sounds, new techniques, and new styles really interesting, particularly when the combination of these explorations successfully marries itself to the film or game I am composing for. The other reason is the way in which music can hold and transfix an audience has always fascinated me. Music has the power to take an audience on a sonic voyage, guiding them through whatever emotive peaks and troughs you want them to experience. Successfully composing some music that gives them ‘an experience’, and for that experience to be approved and appreciated, can be a very addictive feeling as a composer. Music for me is all about collaborating, connecting and sharing an experience, and I don’t think there’s a greater feeling than enjoying creating this experience whilst the audience reciprocates their own enjoyment back to you. ​

What are your future ambitions?I would love to work on a fully-fledged feature film as a composer, as well as playing drums in a West-End show and also on a stage in a festival or arena. The feature-film is probably my most realistic ambition since this is the area of expertise I’ve been training solidly for over the past few years, but there’s nothing quite like the excitement and exhilaration of a live performance on a big stage. To some degree I’ve already done all of them on a much, much smaller level, so to scale it up to that standard - that would just be phenomenal! ​

​Who are you influenced by?I mean where do you want me to start - this could take ages! This is partly because with music, and in particular film music where you often have to dip into a vast pool of music genres, I find inspiration from anything and everything I listen to. Even if you don’t like some of the music you hear, you can still find really interesting elements within it that you do like. And asking yourself why you don’t like the music is in itself intriguing, because you start working out what you’d do differently to that music to satisfy you. But if I’m naming actual names: Bernard Herrmann, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Jóhann Jóhannson, Alexandre Desplat, David Arnold, Thomas Newman, Debbie Wiseman, Max Richter, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, Vangelis, Daniel Pemberton, Rachel Portman, Lorne Balfe, Anne Dudley, Harry Gregson-Williams, James Newton Howard, James Horner - seriously, there’s so many great scores from all these composers and so many more I haven’t mentioned. I’ve not even started who inspires me as a drummer/ percussionist! (Omar Hakim, John Bonham, Bernard Purdie, Gene Krupa, Evelyn Glennie, Buddy Rich, Ash Soan, Larnell Lewis, Robert ‘Sput’ Searight...don’t worry, I’ll stop.......) ​

​Have you ever failed at something and what happened as a result? What advice would you give to people as a result of that experience? ​Oh yeh definitely! Compositions that haven’t been accepted, competitions where I haven’t got very far, applications for jobs that either haven’t been replied or they say ‘It’s A No From Me’ - all of these are failures. However, failure isn’t a bad thing, contrary to how it sounds and how it feels. In fact it’s probably quite a good thing. For me, failure is the antidote to complacency, because if I’ve failed at something I really wanted to achieve, I am more determined and more focused than ever to find out what went wrong and to fix it. It’s not always obvious what did go wrong, and perhaps it was simply ‘right person, wrong time’. But by going through the process of looking at your mistakes anyway, you find out more about who you are as an artist, as well as the fact that evaluating your own work objectively can also highlight the positives in your work. I think the trick is to not treat failure as a negative, but to treat it as a mechanism to motivate yourself, to become better at your chosen discipline than you were before, and to use it to keep yourself moving and progressing in the right direction. ​

​What is more important, talent or hard work?Hard work, without a shadow of a doubt. Ideally you’ll have both to go the distance, plus some hearty dollops of luck and good fortune, but without hard work you aren’t going to go anywhere. Hard work can actually grow and develop a talent, but talent cannot grow hard work. You will almost certainly get more opportunities through hard work and perseverance than just being talented and resting on your laurels.

​What are you afraid of?The obvious one is the fear of rejection. You can spend weeks or months working hard on something, spending all night finishing it off and making sure it’s up to standard, only to be told it’s a bit naff or it’s not quite what they’re looking for - that’s a hard one to take. Music is - as are many other artforms - very subjective, so it’s impossible to please everybody (which is important to keep in mind when faced with rejection), but when you’re a film composer and writing music essentially to please the ear of the film director, awaiting their feedback can be really terrifying, especially if you’re trying out a score that’s a bit experimental! Then on top of that there is the fear of not knowing when the next bit of work is going to come from. As a freelancer, you’re always on the hunt for a job, and you’re always feeling a little bit insecure about when you’ll get to work on something next. You might spend an intense few weeks working on a project, then as soon as it’s completed, that’s it, job done, you’re right back to the beginning again and back on the hunt for more work. After each job you’re left in this limbo where you are unsure of which direction to move in and where to go next, which can be quite an angst-inducing period of time.

What is the most exciting thing you have done to date?The most exciting thing to date, aside from scoring ‘Rancheros del Jaguar’, was probably playing drum kit for the University of Manchester Musical Theatre Society production of ‘Godspell’ on their Edinburgh Fringe Festival run last year. This was partly because prior to this gig, I’d taken a step back from playing kit professionally to concentrate on my composing, so when the offer of playing at the Fringe in this brilliant show came along, I felt it would be an ambitious but amazing way to kick things back off again. The opportunity to play at the Fringe is also something that doesn’t come around too often, and the idea of playing at such an iconic festival was really exciting! At the time of the run of shows I was actually finishing off my work on ‘Rancheros’, so although that added an extra level of pressure to what was an already tight turnaround of rehearsals and shows, it made it all the more satisfying when both the show and ‘Rancheros’ were really successful. Just that whole experience was a real buzz!

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to become a composer? My advice would be to listen to as much as you can. I don’t just mean listen to music, I also mean listen to sound in general. I would also say do something that helps you get your creative mind into gear, which doesn’t necessarily have to be listening to something. Composition is all about inspiration and imagination, so immersing yourself in anything that has the potential to trigger a creative spark is essential. Although inspiration occurs unintentionally, the more activities you do that engages your mind and your senses, the greater the chance you will stumble across an idea that inspires you. These activities could range from reading a book, going on a walk, watching a TV show or film, listening to an artist you’ve never listened to before, or simply sitting back and listening to your surroundings, wherever that may be. And while you’re doing all this, try and find some semblance of a narrative within it, because for film music especially, the heart of the film as a whole is the story, so it’s good practice to identify or form your own narrative arc in everything you see and do. However, the most important thing above all is to create. If you have an idea, even if it’s only a half- baked idea, go and create something out of it. If you’re not making any new sounds or music, you’re not a composer, so keep doing something sonically creative and you might make something truly incredible.